The cushioning pad embodying the present invention is of the general type shown in Willison et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,667 which has been used in railway cushioning devices for many years. The cushioning pad shown in that patent has cylindrical dowels for aligning the pad relative to an adjacent pad when several pads are assembled in a group. While the cylindrical dowel and corresponding recess provide a fairly accurate means of aligning the cushion of each pad relative to an adjacent cushion, each pad must be accurately positioned relative to an opposing pad before a dowel can enter the opening. During the process of assembling such pads when one pad is laterally offset relative to an adjacent pad, no gathering action is provided by the dowels to align the pads. Manipulation of the pads to dowel them together is readily done when the assembling of the pads is performed in an open area, as on a bench where manual and visual adjustment of each pad is possible. However, when the pads are to be assembled in a casing or housing closed at one end, by application of one pad at a time, the problem of matching a dowel with an opening of an opposing pad becomes difficult and time consuming. Accurate assembly and alignment of a group of pads within a housing such as is encountered with equipment requiring, for example, 20, 30 or more pads, becomes a painstaking operation.